New week, New day, New start …

Your new job is no longer a thing to look forward to in the future, it is here, you are here, working in the role that you coveted for so long. You are part of the Company that you researched and fell in love with. This is such a happy time.

Have you ever planned a holiday for months and arrived to find that the sunshine filled photo in the brochure was nothing like the rain sodden place you are now spending your next two weeks. Dreams of waking up to views of the ocean foxed by the view of the car-park from your hotel window. Visions of peace shattered by the noisy neighbours living in the next door room. Well that can sometimes be true of your dream job too.

In your dream you do what you want when you want in a manner that suits you. When you arrive in person, there are methods and pages of procedures to adhere to that somewhat cramp your creativity. In your dream you knew what you were doing and were working with style, flair and passion. You were being noticed by all the right people for doing all the right things. You were being complimented for your professionalism and effectiveness. Basically you were the star of your very own show.

Don’t get disheartened when week one that isn’t how things are. It takes time to learn the ways of a new company just as it does a new person. I would estimate that it takes six months to really settle in properly and three months just to feel not so new or out of place. After three months I would expect that although you have to think about what to do next once one task is finished you no longer need to ask how to accomplish the next step, or not all the time at least. Six months in and you will be running on auto-pilot for the day-to-day duties and you will really be managing your own day and desk. This is the picture of yourself you saw in your daydream; you in situ six months on.

There is only one way I know of to get from the early days of awkward, fish out of water moments and that is to take time and go through them. There are no quick fixes or shortcuts, but you can alter your state of mind to make it easier on yourself and everyone else that knows you.

Start thinking positively about every new element you learn; every process, procedure, methodology and way of operating you tick off is another step closer to the you that knows what they are doing

Enjoy the opportunity of learning things from the ground up and seeing the entire role with new eyes; this might give you the career breakthrough you have been yearning for

Give your new colleagues the privilege of being able to share their knowledge with you; learn as much as you can from all of them. They are your keys to future excellence

Try to avoid referring them back to your old way of working and techniques adopted by your old employer, unless you can see a genuine business reason why they should consider changing their method to your old way

Try to avoid reminiscing over past highs and regaling your new colleagues with stories of former glories; they all know you have the potential for greatness, allow yourself to show them your many skills and successes within this role once you have all the right information

Be present in the now. It is the only time we really have, the past has been and gone and is already set, the future is yet to come and is variable depending on what we do right here in this moment. So make your now count. Enjoy it for the uniqueness it contains

Be happy, flexible, agreeable and charming. Manners cost nothing my grandmother used to say. I would add they are a great gift to those around you because it is so nice to be around people that are easy to be with. Be the person you would like to spend time with

Be open to the idea that although you knew everything in your previous role that you may still be able to learn something new. Look for things every day that please you and enjoy having that additional knowledge now

Mostly accept that this is going to be a time thing and that even if you were somewhere else you would be in the same situation, the new person in the team learning everything from scratch. Remember that every minute that passes gets you a little closer to the time when you will know what you are doing

New can be exciting; enjoy it! It won’t last long

For help getting onboard in a new company or making the transition from where you are to where you want to be please contact one of our Consultant Coaches at churchillbrook@gmail.com